EB92's The Ghost Queen 1 and a Half
by Bubble Toon 7
Summary: This is a story about Sailor Jupiter and Kikki on their own adventure about what happen before The Ghost Queen.
1. Chapter 1: Lita and Kikki

**EB92's The Ghost Queen 1 and a Half**

Sounds of morning on the savannah. A lion roars in the distance. Sunrise over the Cartoon Kingdom, exactly as my first story. People and animals raise their heads as the sun rises, preparing to march to Mystical Castle.

MS: _**Nants ingonyama bagithi baba**_

BS: _**Sithi uhhmm ingonyama**_

MS:_** Ingonyama  
Nants ingonyama bagithi baba**_

Sonic: (simultaneously, imitating the singer): _**Whaaaat's on the menu? **_

_**It could be ceviche, it's stinky—ooh, it's Kikki…aah**_

"I gotta tell you, Jupiter…that song always gets me right here," said Kikki from the off-screen.

"Yeah, Kikki," Lita pauses the movie, "Well enough about," she holds up a remote control and begins fast-forwarding through the movie. We now see Lita aka Sailor Jupiter and Kikki in silhouette in a row of theater seats, Mystery Science Theater 3000-style.

"Uh, Lita, what are you doing?" Kikki asked.

"I'm fast-forwarding to the part where we come in!" Lita replied.

"But you can't go out of order!" Kikki said in aghast because she didn't like when Lita is fast-forwarding to the part of the movie.

"Au contraire, my monkey pal. _I've_ got the remote!" Lita smirked.

"But everyone's gonna get confused!" Kikki grabs a second, bigger remote, "We gotta go back to the beginning of the story." She begins rewinding the movie.

"We're not _in_ the beginning of the story!" Lita snapped as she pauses the movie on Mina holding up Dani, with a screech; the movie begins fast-forwarding again.

"Yes, we were—the whole time!" Kikki snapped rewinds; the film reverses on a shot of Lita looking in bewilderment at Dani and Ben's reunion, with a squawk of confusion.

"But _they_ don't know that!" Lita said, mentioning the audience switches the movie direction again, on Ben as Fourarms pinning Dani.

"Then why don't we tell them _our_ story?" Kikki asked, until she paused the movie on a snarling close-up of the three villains; Lita and Kikki both shriek and dive under their seats.

"Hey, I have an idea," Lita said as she slowly-emerge from her seat, along with Kikki, "Why don't we tell them _our_ story?"

"Oh—I like the sound of that," Kikki nodded.

"A little backstage tour. Take 'em behind the scenes for a revealing and intimate look at the story within the story," Lita explained.

"'Cause what _they_ don't know is how we really _were_ there even though they didn't _know_ we were there, y'know?" Kikki asked.

"Couldn't have said it better myself!" Lita began to rewind the movie.

"So does this mean we're going back to the beginning?" Kikki asked.

"Oh, no, Kikki," Lita replied, melodramatically, "No, we're going way back…to _before_ the beginning."

The sunrise plays backwards, looking like a sunset; the screen goes black along with African drumbeats; the title "The Ghost Queen" crashes onto the screen, followed by a 2, then a 1, then another 1, followed by a diagonal line which forms the crooked "1 1/2" logo. Cracks appear across the screen image, and the black screen shatters and falls from the field of view in fragments, leaving a view of Mystical Castle in daylight.


	2. Chapter 2: Digga Tunnah

**Chapter 2**

**Digga Tunnah**

At daytime, we now see the Toon Castle as Kikki spoke in reverently, "Mystical Castle."

"So majestic," said Lita.

"So powerful," Kikki added.

"So…bizarrely named," Lita paused the movie, "Kikki, how can a castle be proud? It's a _castle_!"

"Well, I think a castle is where a group of ghosts, Ta Xuan Ze, and Cartoons live," Kikki answered. Lita rolled his eyes, "Oh, sure, the _toons_ get Mystcial Castle. And what about us Sailor Scouts? Where I come from we didn't have _nothin'_ to be proud of. Why…"

Lita: _**When I was a young Sailor Scout**_

Kikki: _**When he was a young Sailor Scouts**_

That blew Lita out of his seat. "Very nice," Lita said, peevishly as he got back to his seat.

"Thanks!" Kikki grinned.

"But maybe it'd be safer if I just show 'em where I came from,"

"Yay! Do we get to see where you grew up?" Kikki asked.

"Yeah, Kikki, but it ain't pretty," Lita clicks the remote; the view of Mystical Castle switches to a full-screen shot, "Please remain seated while the camera is in motion."

The camera does a super-high-speed truck-out from Mystical Castle, past zebras, grasslands, the Cartoon Graveyard, the Gorge, marshlands, the desert, and finally stopping at a dry plain of low mounds of dirt, with a tumbleweed blowing across.

"Here we are: from Mystical Castle to the pit of shame," Sonic continued, "We're so low on the food chain we're underground! But you don't have to take my word for it. I'll just let my fellow Sailor Scouts do the talking."

Background Chant: _**Semon pute**_

Sailor Scouts: (_Chanting, nervously_) _**What was that!  
What was what! Shh!  
What was that!  
What was that!  
Where? What?  
Where? Where? Shh!  
What was that! Shh!  
Quick, before the villains come!**_

"Clear!" the guard Sailor Scout Uranus shouted and the others began to dig more tunnels, singing during their work.

_**Digga tunnah,  
Dig, digga tunnah  
When you're done ya dig a bigga tunnah  
Digga tunnah,  
Dig, dig a tunnah  
Quick, before the hyena come!  
DIG!**_

BC: _**Semon pute**_

Sailor Scouts: _**Digga tunnah,  
Dig, digga tunnah  
You can dig and never get dunnah**_

BC: _**Semon pute**_

Sailor Scouts: _**Digga tunnah, (Dig a little faster)  
Dig, digga tunnah  
What was that!**_

Silence as they look from side to side, listening.

_**Quick, before the Anti-Toon come!  
DIG!  
Digga tunnah is what we do  
Life's a tunnah we're diggin' through  
Digga tunnah is what we sing  
Digga tunnah is everything!  
Mud and clay is a fox's friend  
Always more around every bend  
And when you get to your tunnah's end  
Hallelujah! Let's dig again!  
DIG!  
Digga tunnah,  
Dig, digga tunnah (Digga tunnah)  
When you're done ya dig a bigga tunnah.  
Digga tunnah, (Dig a little faster)  
dig dig a tunnah.  
What was that! **_

They pause to listen.

_**Quick, before the Anti-Toon come!  
DIG!**_

As they kept work, a young woman with brown haired and kinda resembles Lita's only shorter, she wore a green dress with a pink apron came walking; this was Nina Kino, Lita's mother.

"Lita!" Nina shouted. "Excuse me, have you seen my daughter? Has he been through here? Lita!"

An penguin with a scarf, his name is Rocko, chanting their song, "Digga tunnah, dig, digga tunnah... digga tunnah, dig, dig—Aaaah!" He screamed when Nina poked him.

"Rocko?" Nina asked.

"Aaahh!" Rocko screamed.

"Uncle Rocko, relax," said Bernie, "Have you seen Lita?"

"No, I haven't—and what a day it's been," Rocko replied, "No fractures, no lacerations, no concussions, contusions or injuries of any sort. As a matter of fact, there's no sign of Lita's handiwork anywhere!" But boy was he wrong.

The ceiling cracks and then comes crashing down around them, light streaming in all around; finally there's nothing left of the tunnel but a ring of dirt held up on a narrow protrusion, with Lita standing under it.

"That would be…_**LITA KINO!" **_Rocko yelled, very angry. Rocko calls Lita her real name, when she's in trouble.

"Heh, heh, heh," Lita chuckled, very embarrassed, "Hey, everybody!"

"Ha ha. Nice work, Jupiter," said Uranus.

"Way to go, tunnel klutz." Neptune said.

"Who else could break a hole?" said Pluto.

"Four in a week—a new record!" Mars said.

"Not again," Nina groaned as she sighed because her daughter kept screwing up.

"What?" Lita asked, defiantly, "It's called a skylight!" The "skylight" crumbles to nothing.

"Ho ho. Wow! Isn't that creative," Nina said, trying to salvage the situation, "A _skylight!_ Oh, ha ha, I'll just have a word with her," Lita added and she lead Lita away from the scene of the collapse.

"I... I was just trying to shed a little light on our pathetic existence," Lita complained because he wants a little light.

"Lita, this can't go on. Just this month, you've pulled down four walls and collapsed two tunnel exits," Nina combs Lita's hair, "We have to look after each other. Our survival depends on it."

"Mom, what's the point?" Lita groaned, "All we do is dig so we can hide, and hide so we can dig," Nina finishes combing her hair, which "poofs" up into a bunch of spikes, "I wanna be where we don't have to dig tunnels and live with our heads stuck in the sand," she pushes some grass apart and gazes out over the horizon, "What's so bad about dreaming of a better home?"

Nina joins him at the gap in the grass, "I wanna show you something. Look, Lita. Go on, look," Camera pulls back to a panoramic view of the Cartoon Kingdom in all their golden-lit majesty, as the "This Land" theme plays, "Look out to the horizon, past the trees, over the grasslands. Everything the light touches..." she said, sharply, "belongs to someone else!" A record needle scratches; the grasses snap back together and block the view.

"Funny. I thought you were going a whole different direction with this," said Lita.

"What can I say? It's nature's design," Nina chuckled. Rocko popped out of the grass, "She's right! We're food for other animals—a moveable feast. Feared by no one and eaten by all!"

"But when they die, they become the grass. And we eat the grass... right?" Lita asked.

"Not exactly; we can't digest grass. We're grass intolerant," Rocko replied.

Nina snatched Lita away, "Ok, Uncle Rocko. _Thank_ you. You've been a big help," she said to Lita, "Honey, I—"

Rocko appeared out of another stand of grass, "Sailro Scouts and Penguins…it's what's for dinner!"

"_Thank_ you, Uncle Rocko," Nina said in increasingly sarcastic; pointing meaningfully off into the distance. Uncle Rocko groans and disappears.

"I think Uncle Rocko dislodged one too many rocks with his skull," said Lita.

"But he's right, Lita," Nina tries to comb her hair again; a bug flies by, and she snatches it and squishes it into hair gel, "Oh, I just _know_ there's a way for you to fit in here." Lita glowers from under her plastered-down hair; a single hair springs back up, and she sighs.

"All right, who's on sentry duty?" Rocko asked the others, off-screen. Lita perks up with inspiration; gasps, "That's it! That's it—my daughter on sentry duty! Lita the sentry!" Later on, Uncle Rocko was being told of this idea, but he's in horrified shock, "Lita the _sentry!_ Why don't you save the villains and cannibals the trouble and kill me now? Just kill me now!"

"He has a point," Lita agreed.

"All you have to do is watch for hyenas and yell if you see one. Look at Sailor Moon," said Nina.

Sailor Moon/Serena is in the middle of a nervous breakdown, "Don't close your eyes! Don't look away! Somebody's gotta guard us! Somebody's gotta protect us!" she breaks up in sobs as a couple of Sailor Scouts orderlies carry her away, raving, from her post.

"Well. _Now_ I'm convinced," Lita spoke.

"Listen—it's outside, up in the breeze, under the wide open sky—isn't that what you want?" Nina talked to , "Or maybe you would rather have her go back on the digging crew."

"_**NO!"**_ every Sailor Scout and Rocko shouted. Later on, the entire colony of Sailor Scouts, listening intently, and now pretending nonchalance and clearing their throats.

"Good... then we all agree. Lita, listen to Rocko. He'll teach you everything you need to know. And honey," Nina said, earnestly, "Try to make this one work."


	3. Chapter 3: Lita the Sentry

**Chapter 3**

**Lita the Sentry**

That late after noon, Uncle Rocko and Lita is outside as Rocko is demonstrating the duties of the sentry, "Scurry, sniff, flinch! Scurry, sniff, flinch," Lita isn't impressed and rolled her eyes while Rocko continues, "Scurry, sniff, flinch! Good. Now...what do we do if we see a villain?"

"Scream 'Mommy?'" Lita replied, unimpressed.

"That's right, missy! Because the world out there is fraught with danger. Fraught, I tell you!" said Rocko.

"Oh, boy. It's the Fraught Fest," Lita said in a sarcastic manner.

Rocko ignored that and shouted in furiously pantomiming, "Even _all_ bloodthirsty villains are waiting to rip us limb from limb!"

"Bra-_vo_, Uncle Rocko. Way to sell it to the cheap seats," Lita applauded sarcastically. Rocko said in Lita's face, "Applaud now, young lady," he said quiet and severe, "But try clapping and wear gloves when you don't have any hands!" Rocko turns and leaves Lita on sentry duty. Lita gulps, looking at her hands. Then she takes up her position on the rock.

"Scurry, sniff, flinch. Scurry, sniff, flinch," marimbas begin; Lita starts to get into it, "Huh... I like the sound of that. Scurry, sniff, flinch," she begins dancing more and more flamboyantly, "Scurry, sniff, flinch. Scurry, sniff, flinch. Scurry, sniff, flinch!"

Lita: _**There's more to life than panic  
And bein' some other guy's snack—euugh**_

What she didn't know is that three bad guys pop up from behind a rock in the background, then disappear again.

_**I may be delicious, organic  
But this little entree's fightin' back!  
I'm gonna put diggin' tunnels behind me  
And live at a new altitude  
I'm gonna reach for the stars to remind me  
That sailor scouts and penguins are not merely food!  
For once I'll be...**_

Lita steps into the cloud and surfs into a fantasy waterfall setting.

_**Lookin' out for me... yeah!  
I'll tell you what I want  
This chick is movin' on  
She's a bon vivant  
Who's missin' out on bon  
I'd be a bigger cheese  
Far from the desert scene  
A little cooling breeze  
A little patch of green!  
And I'll be snoozin' in my hammock by a rippling stream  
Many miles from any tunnel and the digging team  
Looking after number one will be my only creed  
That's all I need**_

She slurps up some bugs.

_**That's all I need**_

_**I've always been good at runnin' away  
Well, now I'm gonna run the show-ow  
I've always been seen as the ultimate prey  
But now my status ain't so quo!**_

The fantasy and the music dissolve as she improvises, unaware that the three villains have surrounded her, while Lita is improvising.

_**A dream sublime...  
It's villain tiiime... oh!**_

Lita heard some clapping, which is from Blackfire, Evil Knuckles, and Evil Omi.

"Oh, look its dinner and a show!" said Blackfire.

"And I thought beans were the only musical food," Evil Knuckles added.

"Yeah," Evil Omi smirked. Lita stared at them, frozen in fear, "Ev…Ev…Ev…"

"Well, good Evening to you too," Blackfire smacks Lita, who goes rolling down the hill, "Ayy! Ohh! Ow! Okay..."

"This is no time for horseplay, Lita. You're supposed to be up there lookin' out for..." Rocko sees the bad guys as Blackfire holding out her purple starblots, Evil Knuckles pund his fist, and Evil Omi brings out his water power, snickering, "The villains and the Anti-Toons!" The sailor scouts and penguins all pop out in terror and screamed. The sailor scouts and penguins colony runs around in a mad chaotic dash for cover.

"Whoa, look at 'em scramble," said Evil Knuckles.

"And that's just how I like 'em," Blackfire added. A group of penguins, led by Rocko, crash in a line right into Blackfire's face, "Scrambled," she slurps them, lifting Ricko into the air; the penguins and sailor scouts are disgusted and the whole colony scramble about, "…And a little bit runny." The group of sailor scouts goes running by, followed by the laughing villains, passing Lita who's standing there covering his head.

"Villains!" the Sailor Scouts and hedgehogs screamed. A hand reaches up and grabs Lita; she strains to stay where she is, but gradually the hand manages to drag her head-first into a hole. It's her mother.

"Get in here! What are you, crazy?" Lita asked. Evil Omi guards a hole, and snaps at a bunch of penguins and Sailor Scouts who jump into it one at a time; he misses all of them, but blocks the hole before Rocko can get in.

"Hubie?" Nina called.

"Here!"

"Mina?"

"Here!"

"Amy?"

"Here!"

"Oh, what a relief. Everybody's… Nina gasps, "Where's Rocko?" Uncle Rocko is outside, running for his life as the three villains pursue him, screaming for his life. Rocko makes desperately for a second tunnel entrance, where a bunch of penguins and Sailor Scouts appear and gasp at the sight.

"Rocko! Run for your life!" Rini shouted.

"Play dead!" shouted Marina.

"Ándale!" Darien shouted.

"Almost there!" shouted Hubie.

The screen switches suddenly to the QVC shopping channel, where two women are selling a suede handbag, "Suede _is_ the look for this fall. Of course, that _is_ what's happening up in every magazine. What I like about it, other than you've got that long strap, which can clear your coat..." Lita and Kikki are back in the silhouetted theater seats.

"Hey, what's goin' on? Kikki, you're sitting on the remote," said Lita.

"Huh? Oh, sorry. I thought it was a brownie," Kikki chuckled. Lita clicks the remote; we switch back to the scene of Rocko's impending demise.

"You've got it, Rocko!" Neptune shouted. Rocko is overtaken by the villains; the Sailor Scouts and penguins all shield their eyes as we hear crunching sounds. Switch to the inside of the burrow, where the colony stand in shock; suddenly, Rocko drops from the ceiling, the fur bitten off his tail.

"Rocko! Is he alright?" the Sailor Scouts asked.

"I flinched when I should've scurried," Rocko collapsed. Outside, the villains guffawing are walking off.

"Ha ha! Oh, man! It just never gets old, does it?" Evil Knuckles asked.

"Ooh, the classics never do, honey," Blackfire replied. Back underground the Sailor Scouts and penguins glared angrily at Lita as she stood in the middle.

"I, uh... I guess I owe everyone an apology," Lita pauses, "All right, so I made a _teensy_ mistake. Like we all haven't broken into song on sentry duty before. Ha ha ha... come on. Let me have a show of hands," the Sailor Scouts and penguins all wander off, disgusted; Lita tries to change tactics, "Okay. ...Maybe it's a little too soon, but I'm sure we're all gonna laugh about this someday. Trust me." Rocko and all of the Sailor Scouts and penguins are all staring at her severely.

"I _did_ trust you," Rocko said, glaring at his neice.

"But…" Lita paused. The sailor scouts and penguins all silently file out, except for Nina as Lita sighed. That evening, Lita is hunched; Nina emerges from the hole and approaches her.

"Aw, sweetie," said Nina.

"I'm never gonna fit in here. Nobody even likes me," Lita said, sadly.

"Sure they do, honey. Sure they do!" said Nina.

"Besides you." Lita said.

"Uh, besides us? Um, there's, uh...," Nina tried to explain.

"I have to find my place; but it isn't here,"

"Yes it is. We just haven't found it yet. But we will..." Nina combs Lita's hair, "Oh, here's an idea. You can run a trail…"

Lita got up, impatient, "Enough with the hair already. My place is out there, Mom. Oh, I may not know exactly where or how far, but I gotta go!"

"No, wait, wait, wait. I know. If we just..." Nina desperate tries to explain the last idea.

"Mom…" Lita looks at her mother, pointed. Nina pauses, then acquiesces, "Well, we hope you find what you're looking for, son." Lita smiled and comes back to embrace her mother.

"Ooh. Ooh, I love you. Mmm!" Nina hugged Lita.

"I love you Mom." said Lita. Her mother hugging him, tighter and tighter until we start to hear crunching sound effects.

"Oh Litie. My Litie. Mmm-mmm..." Nina kept hugging Lita.

"Mom... choking... not breathing..." Lita muffed, straining.

"Ooh. Mmm. Mmm-mmm."

Lita stand aside, "And people wonder why I have issues." They finally broke the hug and Lita begins to walk off.

"I'll be okay!" Lita said reassuring.

"Oh, I know you will," Nina said wistful, "You will." Her mother slowly lets go of Lita's hands. Lita turns away, then begins striding purposefully away into the sunset.

"Be careful!" Nina called.

"I will!" Lita shouted, as she marches on a bit farther.

"Don't talk to strangers!"

"I know, Mom!" Lita marches a bit more.

"Remember, wash behind your ears!"

Lita turns impatiently, "Mom, I'm not a kid anymore!" she resumes marching.

"Never go swimming without a buddy!"

"Got it!"

"Send me a message!" Nina's voice is still heard far away. Lita groaned, "Oy!" Lita turns back and shouts at the top of her lungs, "What?!"

"I said, send me a message!"

"What?!"

"I _said_, send me a…"

Lita turns back to his path, waves her off, "Good-bye, Mom!" Lita walks off to find a perfect place in his life.


	4. Chapter4: Beyond What You See

**Chapter 4**

**Beyond What You See**

"And so, with high spirits I boldly ventured off where no hedgehog had _dared_ to go before. I put my past behind me, ha!" Lita narrated, the movie shows Lita moving on during the night, "And never looked back." But he was wrong Lita stopped walking and breaks suddenly into sobbing.

"Mommy! Aah! Ha ha!" Lita cried some more. Far shot of Lita, revealing that she is standing next to Mina's baobab tree, "What am I doing?" Lita sobs; shot changes to a close-up, "Which way should I go?"

Suddenly, Mina appeared upside-down, hanging from a tree, "That depends on what you seek."

Lita does a wild take, goes sprawling. Cut back to the theater seats and silhouettes; Lita pauses the movie, "How convenient. Enter omniscient monkey, right on cue."

"Well, you know what they say. When the student is ready, the teacher appears," said Kikki.

"That's it. No more fortune cookies for you," said Lita, she slicks the remote; the movie resumes.

"Hey, where'd you come from?" Lita asked.

Wilt laughs, "Oh, the better question is, where are you going?"

"Oh, someplace wonderful, mister, where... where y—you didn't happen to catch the song I sang a few minutes ago, did ya?" Lita asked, earnestly.

"I didn't have the pleasure," Mina answered.

"To recap: I want to live in some beautiful place, _outside_... a carefree place where I don't have to hide or worry."

Mina jumps down next to Lita, "Whoo! Hoo hoo hoo! Life without worry. You seek Hakuna Matata."

"Harpoon a tomato?" Lita asked, very confused.

"Hakuna Matata, it means 'No Worries,'" Mina corrected.

"Perfect! Mind taking that book of yours and drawing me a map, bub?" Mina smacks her over the head with her flute, "Ow! Hey!"

Mina goes into her medating pose, "To find it, you must look _beyond_ what you see."

"What the heck is that supposed to mean?"

"It means, look beyond what you see!"

"Beyond what I see," Lita began to imitate Mina's voice, "Ha. Get a load of the monkey, gettin' all existential on me. Beyond what I see," she sees a frog croaking on a rock, "Hmm... Beyond what I see," pans over to a tree stump a little farther away, "Beyond what I see," pans to a tree in the distance, "It's kinda hard to think with all this music. Beyond... what I see..." suddenly he focuses in on Mystical Castle in the far distance, "Oh, wait a second. It's comin' to me. It's either that slug I ate or I'm having an epiphany! I'm going to the big magical-looking mansion! Right?" Lita turns around, but Mina is gone.

"Who was that strange mongoose?" Lita asked, "Ah, well. Dream home, here we come." Lita marches off in the direction of Mystical Castle. She enter a stand of tall grasses. A snapping sound startles them as Lita clings.

"Ah... oh-h... hello? Strange but wise mongoose?" Lita asked.

A flock of birds takes off and startles them again. She climb up on a rock; then she heard a weird grunting roar, and see a bulky shape rushing in their direction. Lita tumble off the rock and rushes blindly through the grass as the ominous roaring sound pursues them, "Oh! Oh! Aah!" Lita crashes into a girl, with blonde hair, brown eyes, and wearing a yellow jumpsuit, brown fingerless gloves, stockings, and slippers, blocking their path. The two began to scream, one by one. Lita pauses the movie.

"You know, first impressions are very important" said Kikki.

"Oh, I thought you were a scream," Lita added, the move resumes.

Lita and the Mew Mew monkey kept screaming. "Just eat me now... and please make it fast. I got a low threshold for pain," said Lita.

"Easy, easy there, little girl. I'm not gonna eat you," said the monkey.

"What? You're not?" Lita asked, indignant, "Then why were you stalking me?"

"Well, gee, I saw you go by and I figured a person like you shouldn't be out here all alone," the monkey replied.

"Hey, what about you? You're all alone," Lita suddenly apprehensive, "You _are_ all alone, aren't you?"

"Yeah. Most animals give me a pretty wide berth," the monkey replied, ruefully.

Lita sees the seeds of an idea, "They do? Even the hungry ones?"

"Yeah, I drive almost everyone away. People see me comin' and they run for cover. They can't get out of the way fast enough."

Lita is holding up one of the girl monkey's hands, playing with it like a pair of scissors, "You don't say, you don't say. Must be the gleam on those nice tools, huh? Strikes fear into their hearts."

"Actually, they say I wreck their appetite,"

Lita is scheming, "Wow, it's like you have this—this... special power."

The girl backed away, nervously, "Special power? Well, i-it's pretty powerful, all right."

"Perfect! You're hired," said Lita.

"Great! ...For what?"

"To get us to a little worry-free haven out of that big toony-looking castle," Lita pointed at the castle.

"And... you want me to come with you?"

"Ha ha! Do you see any other big lovable chunk of moneky here, who also happens to have golden ring weapon and the ability to repel predators?" Lita grins.

"I'm your Mew Mew monkey."

"You and me, I can tell... we see eye to eye."

"You mean, like friends?"

"Whoa, easy there, big fella. I'd say more like…acquaintances."

"Oh," the monkey feels disappointed, "Well, it's a start."

"Put 'er there, acquaintance," Lita and the bobcat shook hands, "I'm Lita Kino aka Sailor Jupiter, you can call me Jupiter."

"Kikki Benjamin the Golden Tamarin Monkey Mew Mew," said Kikki.

"No, really," said Lita, Kikki grins sincerely at her, "All right then. Let's hit the road."

"You got it... _acquaintance_," said Kikki.

"So clear up one thing for us. If you weren't gonna eat us, what kind of a wacky wild echidna are you?" Lita asked.

"I'm an insectivore," Kikki replied.

"Oh ho! A bug eater! Well, us too. I just never had a name for it. We're kinda partial to the crawly critters ourselves. How about you, big girl?" Lita asked.

"I prefer the ones with wings."

"Kikki, this could be the start of a beautiful... acquaintanceship."


	5. Chapter 5: Kikki's Special Power

**Chapter 5**

**Kikki's Special Power**

The sunrise begins, from the prologue.

MS: _**Nants ingonyama bagithi baba**_

BS: _**Sithi uhhmm ingonyama**_

Lita and Kikki enter the scene, walking across the sunrise from left to right.

"Okay, so now we're back at the beginning. Right, Jupiter?" Kikki asked

"Oh, you got that right, pally," Lita narrated, "At last, things were looking up. I had the sun on my shoulders, the wind at my heels, a song in my heart." The two freaked out as the people and animals all bear down on them and they screamed. They raced out from under all the roaring and screeching animals as they rush past.

"And to protect us, a great big fat guy!" said Lita.

Kikki pauses the move at the silhouettes; he looked shocked, "You really think I look fat?"

"Oh, Kikki, Kikki, Kikki. You're a monkey. It's a compliment!" Lita replied.

"Oh-ho-ho. Thank you!" Kikki mollified. Kikki resumes the movie. Mystical Castle rises before the two of them as the crest a small hill; a deep ghostly wail roar sounds.

FS: _**It's the Circle of Life  
And it moves us all...**_

"Whoo-hoo! There it is the magical-looking mansion! Oh, baby, we're almost there," said Lita. A record-needle scratching sound accompanies them screeching to a halt as the suddenly see that Mystical Castle is surrounded by hundreds of people and animals.

"I think we're a little late," said Kikki.

"It's a land rush. That loudmouth mongoose! She must've blabbed it to the whole world!" Lita shouted.

"What exactly did he say?" Kikki asked.

"Look beyond what you see," Lita replied, imitating Mina.

"So maybe you're supposed to look _beyond_ the magical-looking castle," Kikki explained.

'Maybe I'm supposed to look beyond the magical-looking castle!' Sonic thought.

"Hmm?" Kikki asked.

"Well... let's have a little look, shall we? Beyond what I see... beyond what I see... beyond what I see..." said Lita. The camera pans past Mystical Castle (where Mina is carrying Dani to the tip of the promontory) and all the gathered animals to a small hill with a little cave in it right behind the castle, "The mongoose's got an eagle eye for real estate!"

"Jupiter, look!" Kikki indicating the impending ceremony.

"He-he-hey! It's the mongoose!" said Lita.

"What's that she's holdin' up?" Kikki asked.

"Aw, who cares? It's not important. Come on! My dream home awaits," said Lita. They approach the gathering of animals from behind, rising in front of them like a wall. Kikki nervously shrinks back away from them, "Uh... I don't do so well in crowds. Maybe we better go around."

"Don't you know the shortest distance between me and my dream home is a straight line? Follow us!" said Lita as she leads Kikki straight into the breach.

"Oh," said Ben Tennyson.

"Excuse us!" said Lita.

"Ow!" Rika yelled

"Hello!" Ulrich shouted.

"Goodness!" Edd added.

"Make room, make room. Watch it, Carebear. I'm walkin' here!" said Lita.

"Carebear?! Well, I never!" Flippy snapped. People and animals snort and glower at them as the push their way through the crowd. Suddenly, Kikki starts to fell monkey crazy; she sits down in "emergency" mode, "Uh, Jupiter? There's something I have to tell you."

"Kikki, Kikki, Kikki. We'll have a plenty of time to chat once we settle in," said Lita. Kikki begins to panic, "I could really use a rest stop."

Lita tries to get him back on track, "Don't worry. You'll get your second wind."

"Ohh! I got a really bad feeling!" Kikki breaks into sweat.

"It'll pass. Trust me! It'll pass," said Lita. Suddenly, Kikki begin to act like monkey! He begins to go all monkey around until she uses her attacks on everyone. Lastly, he knocks Dash down.

"Look, Dash is bowing," said Kwan.

"We'd better bow, too!" Brad added; she and the other jocks bowed, follow by the Happy Tree Friends in front of them, then more of the people and animals all laid out in splendid array as they seen from the perspective of Juniper, Mina, Knuckles, and Omi at the tip of the promontory.

"Look, sire, how they kneel before the royal daughter," said Knuckles as Omi nodded. Kikki and Lita stand at the epicenter as Kikki calms down.

"So, I guess that's your special power, huh? What a weapon!" Lita shouted, very impressed.

"Uh, you mean, you don't mind?" Kikki asked.

"Are you kidding it was some Monkey-Trench!" Lita laughed.

"Well, I don't like to go monkey and use my attack like the Super Robot Monkey Team Hyper Force…Go!" said Kikki, with her spirits rise a little.

"Yeah, that's probably for the best," Lita paused for the beat, "Let's go, Kikki."

"Lead the way!" Kikki added. The group wind their way through the prostrate people and animals as the beams of sunlight fall on Dani high atop the promontory above them. Later on, they made it to Lita dream home.

"This is it, buddy-girl. Home sweet home! And I don't gotta share it with anybody. Ha ha ha!" Lita laughed.

"Don't you get, you know, lonely out here?" Kikki asked.

"Lonely? Try commitment-free," Lita ties up three hammocks for him and lay down, "The elbow-to-elbow life reminds me a little too much of home. This place has everything. Cool refreshments," Kikki hands him a massive bowl of slush, "cozy little hammock, a lovely water feature—and it's all mine."

"Oh…" Kikki takes in the fact that she's not being factored in; tries to handle it bravely, "Well... it's really coming together, Lita, so, uh, so I guess I'll just be going," she walks off slowly.

"Wait a minute, now wait-wa-wait. There's no _law_ that says you _have_ to go. I mean, if you want…" said Lita.

Kikki zipped back, quickly, "Ooh, great! I already made up four beds!" The camera shows the two grass beds, one much medium than the other large size for Lita, "One for you and one for me!"

Lita yawns luxuriantly as she got into their beds, "Ohh! Gee, all this construction work has me bushed. Think I'll turn in early," she crawls over the smaller bed and makes himself comfortable in the larger, Kikki-sized bed, "Oh yeah."

Kikki circles around twice, then somehow stuffs herself into the smaller bed. A leg pops out sideways, but she gets comfortable anyway, "Good night."

"Sleep tight," Lita said.

"Dream of bedbugs tonight," Kikki added. They all fell asleep. Dissolve to the exterior of the cave; camera trucks out slowly as the scene gradually switches to daylight.

"Home sweet home indeed," Lita narrated.


	6. Chapter 6: Lita's Dream Home

**Capter 6**

**Lita's Dream Home**

Lita and Kikki are sleeping as daylights stream in. Lita is awakened gradually by the muffled sound of "I Just Can't Wait to Be Queen" pounding in from above; she woke up, groaning, and gets up fetches a long stick, and uses it to bang on the ceiling, "Hey, keep it down up there!"

Kikki woke up, "We have neighbors? We should go say hello."

"Noisy neighbors. There go the property values," said Lita. As they emerge from the cave, they find themselves in the middle of the ostentatious finale of the song, with the people and animals forming a huge pyramid with Dani, Ben, Gosalyn, Leon, and Momoko on top.

Dani: _**Standing in the spotlight!**_

Chorus: _**Let every creature go for broke and sing  
Let's hear it in the herd and on the wing  
It's gonna be Queen Dani's finest fling**_

_**Oh, I just can't wait to be king!  
Oh, I just can't wait to be king!**_

"Oh, perfect. We moved to the theater district! Get a load of these guys," Lita thwacks Naruto with a stick, "Knock it off!"

Naruto's eyes pop wide open and he loses his balance; one by one, all the rest of the people and animals collapse on top of and around him.

_**Oh, I just can't wait...**_

"Jupiter look out!" Kikki snatched Lita out of the way of the impending disaster.

_**To be king!**_

The pyramid of people and animals collapses on top of the cave opening, the group inside.

"I'm okay!" said Dani.

"Oy. Phew. Show people," said Lita. Later, the group moves on to an unspecified location. "Chin up, Kikki," Lita brushes the branch aside, "Whoa! Our dream home's around here somewhere."

"You know, Jupiter, I once came across a place that might be just what you're looking for," Kikki explained, "Spectacular waterfalls, set in a lush tropical oasis. A scrumptious array of…"

Lita interrupted, "Hey, hey, hey. Forget it, Kikki. I'm a realist, and I'm not gonna go chasing after some fantasy. We're going to look beyond what we see."

"But if you always go beyond what you see, how do you know when you're there?" Kikki asked.

Sailor Jupiter got impatient, "Oh, I'll tell you how I know. We're there!" gestures stubbornly at the surroundings: the Anti-Toon Graveyard, "This is a lovely spot. Lovely. Rustic. Picturesque. Home sweet home, Kikki. Mm-hmm. Home sweet ho…" A chunk of a skull that she's leaning against gives way, and he collapses inside, "Aah! Whoop! Ah ha ha ha! I—I mean, sure... it needs a little work. But it's got good bones. Ha ha ha! After all... this is an Anti-toon graveyard. And who would ever come to an elephant graveyard? ...Aaaahh!"

A roar precedes the arrival of Juniper Lee, leaping over the skeleton where the group had been, before diving out of the way just in time. As June rushes off stage left, Knuckles and Omi runs after her, briefing him on the situation.

"Higness, the villains are after the children!" Omi shouted.

The two watches wide-eyed from the sinus cavity of the log, as the shadows cast on them pantomime the scene of June beating up the bad guys.

"I see anti-toons," Lita whispered. Later on, Lita on yet another search for the perfect home. She's going stir-crazy by now. They're moving through the thermal-vent area where Mistress 9 lives.

"Beyond what'cha see... beyond what'cha see... Ha ha ha ha ha! Beyond what you see..." Lita said in a nervous reek.

"Uh, Jupiter? Would this be a bad time to bring up that little place I told you about?" Kikki asked. Lita throws herself down on a steam vent, "Hey! This is home sweet home, baby! Home…" the steam vent erupts, sending Lita into the air, "Aaaah! Ow! Ha ha!" Lita's on the verge of cracking, "Steam! Ha ha! Steam is good. Steam is—is—is water. Whoo! Gotta have water. You know, for the dream home. Steam home, dream home! Steam, steam, steam," she gets a hold of her affects a British accent briefly, "I am perfectly happy r-r-right here. It's remote, private, no unexpected visitors..."

A green light suddenly floods the area, and "Be Prepared" begins. Goose-stepping villains march past them, casting shadows on the wall.

"Somethin' tells me this ain't the traveling company of 'Riverdance,'" said Lita. They pause for a beat, then hop to their feet and "Riverdance" away. Later on, again, they moved on.

"Beyond what you see... beyond what you," Lita turns toward the camera, shudders, "Uhh-h. Hey, how am I supposed to look beyond what I see, beyond _that_?" Camera reveals he's looking straight at Kikki's tail.

"Huh? Oh, sorry," said Kikki, she moves aside to reveal the Gorge in its entire splendor.

Lita trudging along the parched floor of the Gorge, "What this place lacks in water and shade, it makes up for with searing heat and blinding sunshine. Home sweet home, Kikki!" Lita whimpers a little with desperation, just as the ground begins to rumble. Birds flock into the air from the gorge's rim; wildebeest begin to pour over the edge and down into the valley floor. They rapidly approach the group in a massive stampede.

"Shall we run for our lives?" Kikki asked, affecting a gracious, leisurely air.

"Oh, yes, let's," Lita replied, affecting the same air. They both scream and take off running in front of the huge herd of wildebeests. They end up on top of one wildbeest's head, then they see the herd separate before them to reveal a cliff's edge.

"Hang on, Lita!" Kikki shouted.

"This is it!" Lita screamed, "Good-bye, cruel world!" The wildbeest screeches to a halt at the edge of the cliff, pitching the group off in slow motion, screaming. After a few midair tumbles, they land lightly in a slow-moving river.

"That's it?" Lita scoffs, "That wasn't so bad. You can't knock old Sailor Jupiter down that easy! Yeah. Bring it on!" She notices an increasing roar of rushing water, and sees that they're approaching the top of a waterfall, "Uh, Kikki? Question: is it possible to fall off the edge of the Earth?"

"Uh, technically, no. The Earth is round like a sphere, Jupiter, so it doesn't actually _have_ an edge," Kikki answered. The camera pulls back once, twice, three times to reveal an absurdly high waterfall. The two screams as they hurtle over the edge. Right in the middle of the fall, Kikki pauses the movie; back to the silhouettes.

"You mind if I pause it for a second?" Kikki asked.

"Sure, go ahead," Lita replied.

"Be right back!" said Kikki. Lita cracks her neck one way and then the other, grunting. As Kikki clatters off-screen, Lita scratches in her ear, sniffs, hums "It's a Small World After All", and casually picks her nose. Just as the sound of a popcorn popper comes to a stop, Lita pulls out a big booger, which squishes between her fingertips. She gasps as she realizes Kikki are coming back. She frantically looks for a tissue; seeing none, she tries to shake it off his hand, then to flick it off. Finally she wipes it on the seat just as Kikki's returns, with a huge bag of bugs.

"Okay, I got the jumbo so we could share," Kikki pauses for a beat, as she realizes Lita is just sitting there stock-still, "Were you just picking your nose?"

"No! I had an itch on the inside!" Lita said, indignantly. She grabs some bugs and chows down, then clicks the remote. The movie resumes, with the two plummeting down the waterfall and screaming. During the night, Kikki emerges from the water, gasping and wheezing; Lita is clutching Kikki's tail and being dragged to safety, but otherwise limp. Kikki collapse and cough up some water. Lita comes to and groans. She turn to face her; Lita is lying on the beach clutching a lily in a classic death pose.

"Jupiter, are you okay?" Kikki asked.

Lita is at the end of his rope, "Uhh. I give up!"

"But... but you can't give up! We still haven't found our dream home," said Kikki.

"Forget it, Kikki. I've been dragging you down long enough. I'm goin' home... and I suggest you do the same," said Lita.

"Oh, I—I would if I could, but I can't," said Kikki.

"Oh, sure you can, buddy. I won't stop you," said Lita.

"No, I mean... I don't have a home," Kikki corrected.

"You don't? What happened—are you lost?" Lita asked, Kikki shakes her head.

"No place good enough for you?" Lita asked, Kikki shakes again, "What, you're all alone in this big empty world?" Kikki turns to face her, with huge dewy eyes.

"Oh," Lita gets up, "Truth is... I'm all alone too. Kikki, you're the only friend I've ever got."

"Y-you mean..." Kikki said, brighten up.

"Yeah, Kikki…and friends stick together to the end," said Lita. The two gaze at each other sniffling. Lita's reflection appears in Kikki's eyes as the music swells. Suddenly the movie pauses and switches back to the theater seats, where Lita is hunched over and sobbing.

"Jupiter? Are you crying?" Kikki asked, shocked.

"I'm fine! I—I just have something in my eye," Lita sobbed.

"Here, blow," Kikki handed her the hanky.

"Ohh," Jupiter blows her nose; hands the hanky back, "Thanks, Kikki."

"Gee, thanks," Kikki said sarcastically.

"Okay, I'm better," Lita resumes the movie. Later, the four slept on the beach gradually the scene changes to daylight.


	7. Chapter7: Hakuna Matata, Again

**Chapter 7**

**Hakuna Matata, Again**

During the daylight, the group is still sleeping, until Lita woke up and took a stretch; she cracked her back, stretching, "Aw, well. It's too bad we never found that perfect place. Why'd I ever listen to that stupid mongoose?"

Kikki woke up, when Kikki gasped, "I think maybe you're giving up too soon, Jupiter."

Lita sneered, "Beyond what you see…" Kikki grabs her head and spins it around to face what she sees, "huh?"

"Remember that place I told you about?" Kikki asked triumphantly, as she and Lita saw the gorgeous jungle panorama: waterfalls, woods, distant mountains, lush lakes and rivers.

"Forget about _your_ place. Get a load of what _I_ found! Talk about "beyond what you see"!" said Lita, "Kikki, this is our dream home!"

Lita pulling aside vines to demonstrate, "Dramatic views!" she pulled the vines for Kikki to swing in them, "Your very own porch swing!"

The two of them relaxing in a pool which is bubbling merrily, "Hot tub and spa!" said Lita. Lita pulled open a tree to reveal dozens of bugs, "Well-stocked cupboard!"

Kikki slurps up all the bugs, "Let's celebrate," she said, mouthful.

Lita is on a vine stretched across the water, "The mongoose was right. We found it: the perfect life," she dives into the water. Kikki is wearing a chef's hat of leaves; stacking bugs on a skewer, "I'll just whip up a little something."

Lita dries off with a leaf, "She had the perfect name for it, too."

"Come and get it!" Kikki tossed bugs in a large leaf-bowl.

"Such a wonderful phrase. It had this rhythm," Lita began to think, "Laduda Ladada..."

"Try this... Hot tuna frittata," Kikki held out a leaf dish.

"Hmm... No, that's not it," Lita said, not paying attention.

"The spinach armada."

"Quiet Kikki, I'm trying to think," said Lita.

"A spoon of ricotta," said Kikki, setting out a bowl of bug-mush.

"Two words," said Lita.

"A wormy piccata," Kikki held another dish.

"Six syllables," Lita added.

"Kahuna colada," Kikki held yet another dish.

"Twelve letters," added Lita.

"A blue enchilada."

"Rhymes with..."

"Legumes on a platter."

"Think, think, think," Lita continues to think.

"This oughtta be hotter."

"I forget!" Lita said, desperate.

"I gotta lambada!" Kikki starts dancing, trotting sideways until she bumps into Lita; her hat rolls off. Lita grabs hold of her ears and yells, "Hey! How can you dance at a time like this? I'm dyin' here!" Lita realized that she's gone a bit too far, she lets go and backs off, "Sorry about that, pal."

"Hakuna Matata," Kikki said, nonchalant.

Lita shakes her head in confusion, "Come again?"

"Hakuna Matata. It means "no worries." Eh…" Kikki realized, "Oh…"

Wipe to the two of them swinging on vines into the water. As they're both in midair, the movie pauses.

"Hey Jupiter. I got an idea. Let's do a sing along," Kikki said, off-screen.

"Oh, you tease," said Lita, as a ladybug appears on-screen, near the words HAKUNA MATATA which appear at the bottom, "I love karaoke! I'm there."

As the lyrics appear on the screen, over a montage of Lita and Kikki enjoying their carefree life, the ladybug hops from syllable to syllable as they sing the words.

All two: _**Hakuna Matata**_

_**What a wonderful phrase**_

_**Hakuna Matata**_

_**Ain't no passin' craze**_

The ladybug disappears after dancing across "CRAZE"

Lita: _**It means no worries, for the rest of your day**_

"Wait a second," said Lita. Camera pulls back to show the silhouettes. Lita is singing into a microphone; Kikki is chewing and crunching on something. Lita pauses the movie.

"Kikki…where's the grub?" Lita asked, quietly. Kikki opens her mouth; the ladybug staggers out, all mauled up.

"Ohhh. You just can't help yourself, can you?" Lita asked, exasperated.

"Sorry," Kikki apologized.

"Okay... but this time, show a little self control," Lita resumes the movie. The bug is now staggering across the words and getting bounced around by the pair's on-screen antics: floating down a river cascade, bungee-jumping on jungle vines, parachuting on leaves, Lita and Kikki slurping up a long worm and ending in a kiss as in "Lady and the Tramp", when they saw this they broke out of this and got disgust.

Lita: _**Hakuna Matata! Ha-haah!**_

The two scream as they bungee-jump.

Lita and Kikki: _**It means no worries**_

_**For the rest of your days**_

_**It's our problem-free**_

_**Philosophy**_

_**Hakuna Matata**_

It becomes a chant as they shuffle along the now-famous log, dancing and singing.

_**Hakuna Matata**_

_**Hakuna Matata**_

_**Hakuna Matata**_

_**Hakuna Matata  
Hakuna Matata  
Hakuna Matata  
Hakuna Matata...**_

Sudden cut to a close up to Nina. "Hahuna Ma-what-a?" Nina asked, taken aback.

Mina is talking to Lita's mother under the penguin's tree by the rock, "It means, 'no worries.'"

"I see…" Nina said, skeptical.

"So, I told the girl: To find Hakuna Matata, you must look beyond what you see," Mina explained.

"Ohh. A metaphor," Nina understands.

"Well, actually, it's not a meta…" Mina gets clonked in her head with her own flute. Nina is enraged, "You used a _metaphor_ on Lita! She takes things _literally_," she panicked, "That's it. She's starving out there. I just know it! Rocko! Lita's out there chasing metaphors. I've gotta go find her!"

"Are you _nuts!_" Rocko called from inside a hole; her voice shakes the ground.

Nina is disgusted, "Nice to have a supportive family isn't it? Well, here we go."

"Remember, the journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step," Mina said, sagely.

"Thanks. Here's _my_ first step:" said Nina; Nina jumps squarely onto Mina's foot. The camera cuts to Lita screaming instead of Mina as Kikki is pulling the quills out of Lita's behind by her hands, "Guess bowling for porcupines wasn't the best idea, huh?"

"Yeah. Gotta be right up there with bobbing for snapping turtles," Lita replied, but screams when Kikki pulled out another quill.

"Ohh, that's gonna leave a mark," Kikki mumbled, until she looks up at the sound of Fearow's squawking, "Hey, look, Jupiter. Fearows! What do you say? One more round?"

Camera slowly trucks in on the scene in the desert where the buzzards are clustering around what we know to be Dani.

Lita said sarcastically, "Oh, sure. There must be some part of me we haven't injured yet."

"Oh, please?" Kikki asked, "Oh please oh please oh please oh please oh please?"

Lita stretched wearily, "No, guys. I'm beat. You guys go ahead; I'm callin' it a day," Lita pulled out the last quill and screamed in pain.

"But it's no fun alone," Kikki whimpered; she startsto sob and whine like a monkey. She begins to turn away, but just then Lita runs back, joining her, "Aw, why not? One more run won't change our lives!" The two goes charging into the desert towards the Fearows. The movie pauses just as they reach the camera.

Lita begins narrating, "Who knows why fate led us to little Dani that day?" the scene switches, slide-show style, to Kikki carried Dani in her arms, Lita looking terrified, "Maybe it was just my love of adventure..." switch to Dani, in her ghost form, roaring in the jungle, Lita leaping up in terror, "or my innate courage..." Stills show more scenes of Dani terrifying the fur off Lita, "...my valiant and fearless way of... okay, who's in charge of the freeze-frames!" freeze on Lita doing a freakish wild-take pinned up against a tree root.

"Sorry," Kikki apologized.

"Anywho," Lita continues, "Rescuing Dani was a cinch," Kikki gathers up Dani on her arms and trots off with her back to the jungle, "Then came the _reeeally_ scary part. ...Parenthood."


	8. Chapter 8: Parenthood

**Chapter 8**

**Parenthood**

During the night, Kikki, wearing a blue jumpsuit like pjs, used the stump as a bed, while Lita, wearing a pink and green nightgown, uses the flowers as a bed. Kikki kept muttering grubs during her sleep.

_**In the jungle, the mighty jungle  
The lion sleeps tonight  
In the jungle, the mighty jungle  
The lion sleeps tonight**_

"Lita?" 11-year-old Dani asked off-screen, "Lita…? _Lita!_"

Lita woke up blearily; seeing Dani's face upside down, "Oh, what is it?"

"I gotta go" Dani said, agitated.

"Go? Go where?" Lita asked.

"You know, _go_. ...Bad!" Dani exclaimed.

Lita, suddenly understood, "Oh, _go!_ Why didn't you say so? Come on, let's go." They rush across the log, the full moon in the background, Lita leading the way, "When you gotta go, you gotta go."

That day, Lita and Kikki stood there as they saw Dani high on the tree. "Young ghost girl, get down from here!" Lita yelled, sternly, "It's time for your ghost training."

Dani didn't listen as she kept jumping and flying around in the branches, "Whoo-hoo! All right! Hey—you guys look like ants down there."

"I'm counting to three," said Lita, but Dani leaps onto a smaller branch, which breaks under her weight.

"Uh oh," Kikki didn't like this as Dani falls, silently, while Lita counts.

"One... Two..." as Lita counted to two, Kikki threw herselves on top of Lita; Dani lands safely on his arms, "Three," Lita muffled and her arm collapse. That night, the two is asleep.

_**In the jungle, the mighty jungle  
The lion sleeps tonight**_

"Jupiter?" Dani asked.

Lita woke up suddenly, "Oh! Again?"

Dani looking fairly pathetic, "No, I'm thirsty."

Dani and Lita are walking across the log. "You know this means you'll be up again about two hours from now," said Lita. That day, Dani is floating happily down a river as Lita frantically paddles after her, "Hang on, Dani! I'll save you!" Suddenly, Dani gone over the waterfall, "Yahoooo!" Kikki snatch Dani out of midair from an overhanging branch; Lita goes falling past them helplessly, shrieking. At night, the two is sleeping.

"Lita?" Dani looks even more miserable. At the log, Lita is plodding now, slumped over, exhausted, "We're gonna get old walking across this thing."

During the day, Dani, in her ghost form, lies on his back repeatedly batting Lita into the air like a ball of yarn; Lita spins helplessly in midair, wailing. At night, yet again.

_**In the jungle, the mighty jungle  
The lion sleeps tonight**_

"Jupiter?" Dani asked, timid.

Lita wakes up on edge, "What have you got against the concept of a good nights sleep, huh?" she turns to face the camera; we get a faceful of her bloodshot, staring eyes.

"Actually, I, uh... I had a bad dream," Dani corrected.

"Oh. Well, uh..." Lita wakes up Kikki.

Kikki woke up, "Uhh! It wasn't me."

"Sweetie had a bad dream," said Lita.

"Oh…why don't you sleep over here with us?" Kikki asked, smiling.

Lita pats on the bed, "Mi bed, su bed."

"All right!" Dani bounds over to them. Dani slept next to Lita, like a mother.

_**Hush, my darling, don't fear, my darling  
The lion sleeps tonight  
Hush, my darling, don't fear, my darling  
The lion sleeps tonight**_

"Good night," said Dani.

"Sleep tight," Lita added.

"Dream of bedbugs tonight!" Kikki immediately falls asleep and snores. Dani giggles; she puts a foreleg around Kikki and pulls her up tight against her like a stuffed animal.

_**My little darling  
Don't fear, my little darling  
Hey-a, oh, my little darling  
Oh, don't fear, my little darling  
Ingonyama ilele  
Don't fear, my little darling**_


	9. Chapter9: Snail Slurping Contest

**Chapter 9**

**Snail Slurping Contest**

That morning, with the birds chirping and the sun rising through the trees. The three of them are still snoring, in the same pose—but Dani is now 13-years-old. She wakes, yawns, and stretches.

"Whoa! Watch where you aim that morning breath. That should come with a warning label. Whoo, what a wake-up call!" Lita curls up and tries to go back to sleep.

"Looks like someone woke up on the wrong side of the monkey. What's the matter Jupiter?" Dani patronizing, "Had a little too much Hakuna Matata?"

"Young lady, I _invented_ Hakuna Matata," said Lita.

Dani smug, "Oh, yeah? Well, _I_ perfected it."

"Sure you did, sure you did. Kikki, who holds the record for the world's longest bug belch?" Lita asked.

Kikki woke up, "Uh, that would be Dani."

Lita mildly surprised. "All righty then. Who's the champion at slug swallowing?" Lita asked.

"Dani again," Kikki replied.

Lita bolt upright, "Cricket crunching?"

"Dani."

"Grub gulping?"

"Dani."

"Maggot munching?"

"Still Dani."

Lita sweats in trepidation, "Snail-slurping?"

"Oh, uh, nobody. We never had a snail-eating contest before," said Kikki. Later on, the sun creates a lens-flare wash to Dani and Lita facing off over a monstrous pile of snails. They narrow their eyes at each other in turn; then both flex their paws like gunslingers.

"I don't think this is such a good idea," said Kikki, hiding in the bushes.

Dani grabs a snail and slurps it straight out of its shell, leaving slime all over her chin. He slams the shell down and leers at Lita, who yawns theatrically, then slurps down a snail of her own and folds her arms defiantly. Dani raises a hand with four snails, which she slurps down rapid-fire one after the other, then tosses the shells down and grins devilishly. Lita stares back in amazement, her eye twitching; then she swallows four of her own, swats away the shells, and grins a trifle insanely, breathing hard.

Kikki hid in the bushes, looking at one and then the other like in a tennis match, as we hear slurps from one side and then the other in rapid succession. Finally they sinks down in trepidation, and the camera switches back to Dani and Lita slumped against opposite ends of the rock, only one snail left in front of each of them. In extreme perspective, Dani reaches for the last one, groans and shudders, then slurps it down; she belches loudly, then tosses the shell away with a drunken smirk. Lita picks up her last one, his belly bulging out over the edge of the rock; the snail in her hands morphs into Kikki, staring back at her.

"I told you this wasn't such a good idea," said Kikki.

Lita suddenly gags, covers her mouth, totters, and collapses; the snail shell flies up into the air, lands, clatters to a halt, and the snail inside pops out and scoots away. The camera trucks back vertically away from Lita, passed out and bloated on the ground next to the pile of shells.

"Thus, did the pupil surpass the teacher," Kikki narrated.

"You've been hangin' around with the mongoose again, haven't you?" Lita asked. Kikki walks slowly up to Lita and helps him up. Lita groaned as she watches Dani swaggering away into the trees, "Our Danielle is growing up." The group stares after her for a beat.

Lita: _**Is this the little girl I carried?**_

Kikki: _**When did she grow to be so tall?**_

All: _**Wasn't it yesterday when she was small?**_

The background chorus takes up the song as first Lita, then Kikki, then a full-grown 16 yea old Dani fly into the air, trampolining off a bunch of hanging vines. All three bounce into the air again, and Dani grabs the other two in a midair embrace.

Background Chorus: _**Sunrise, sunset**_

_**Sunrise, sunset**_

_**Swiftly fly the years**_

_**One season following another**_

_**Laden with happiness and tears**_

The three of them lie on their backs looking up at the stars (no doubt, discussing cosmology); dissolve to the three of them hanging from vines, Dani gently pushing the others so they swing. Finally, dissolve to all three relaxing in the bubbling hot-tub pool.

"So you see, that's why they call it a 'dung beetle,'" Kikki explained, while relaxed as we see only half of her body.

"Eww. You don't say. And yet, still so tasty!" said Dani.

"Oh, yeah. And they're my _favorite_, too," said Kikki.

Lita approaches the tub, wearing a leaf around her body. She tosses the leaf away wearing a green two-piece bathing suit with a pink bow chest, dabs a toe in the water, and eases herself in. Lita slipped into the water, relaxing, "Just what the doctor ordered."

"Yep. After a long day of doing nothing, it's good to kick back," said Kikki.

"Three pals and no worries. What more could you want?" Dani asked. They all sighed contentedly, relaxing silently for the beat.

Kikki yawns luxuriantly and scratches herself underwater, "I'm bushed. Think I'll turn in for the night," Kikki slowly comes out as the bubbles immediately stopped. The two gasped in horror.

"Don't panic. Kikki made these bubbles with his tail," said Lita. Dani sighed in relief and got out. At the beds, where Dani pounces on Kikki and gives her a "noogie", then gathers the two of them on next to her.

"Lita, it's your turn to say good night," said Kikki.

"Good night," said Lita.

"Sleep tight," Dani added.

"Dream of bedbugs tonight," Kikki finished. Dani rolls over and nearly squashes Kikki between his body and his foreleg, but Kikki doesn't wake up. Dani's hand slips off Lita; she sleepily reaches down and pulls it back up like a blanket. Camera trucks back as they all sleep.


	10. Chapter 10: Trouble in Paradise

**Chapter 10**

**Trouble in Paradise**

"You gotta admit, we had a pretty good thing goin' there," Lita narrated, off-screen.

"We coulda gone on like that forever," said Kikki.

"Except for one teeny weeny little thing we forgot to count on," Lita added. 16-year-old Ben, as Forearms pinned Dani, in her ghost form, down onto the ground, pointing his fist at her.

"Ben?" Dani asked, recognizing him. Ben, turns back to Ben, backed off and now recognizing her.

"How did you…?" Ben asked.

"But how did you…?" Dani asked.

"This is a disaster Kikki," said Lita, hiding in the bushes, "A disaster, I tell you!"

"You mean because they've finally found each other like two soulmates joined across the years by the bonds of true love?" Kikki asked.

Lita patronizing, "Sweet, innocent, little Kikki," she said in alarmed, "He's going to put a stake right through the heart of our Hakuna Matata!"

"Oh! ...Then I guess we oughtta do something." Kikki said, unconvinced.

"And I know just what it is. Kikki...we can't let them feel the love tonight!" said Lita.

Later, Lita springs into action. She whispered to Kikki's ear; she nodded and they high five. As Dani and Ben gambol among the trees, Lita parts the tall grasses and leans out to arch her eyebrows at the audience; she then fires a blow-dart at Ben, which sticks in his hand. Dani gallantly plucks it out and threw it aside into the bushes, where it hits Lita, who squeals. Ben pulls Dani under his chin and rubs her hair. Lita screams when the dart is stuck on her.

FS: _**Can you feel the love tonight?**_

Lita whispers her plan in Kikki's ear, in which the word "spider" is audible; they high-five. Lita holds up a big spider, which winks at us; Lita lowers it like a yo-yo towards the two couples. On the way down, the spider passes a fetching female spider, and the music stops abruptly as the spider hops back up to her. The spiders weave a bunch of heart-shaped webs behind the ghost girl and alien boy as they nuzzle.

_**Can you feel the love tonight?**_

"This is so romantic," Kikki said, overcome as Lita is wrapped up in a cocoon of spider-silk.

As Dani and Ben pass by, Lita hurls a huge beehive at them. But the bees stay right there above her in a solid cloud; Lita races away with the bees in hot pursuit.

_**Can you feel the love…?**_

Lita now has several bee stings on his head, a black eye swollen shut, and (as she grins and gives the thumbs-up to the group) a missing tooth. Kikki uncertainly returns the thumbs-up, at the other end of a long vine laid across Dani and Ben's path. The ghost girl and alien boy mock-wrestle their way across it. Ben stumbles backwards over the vine as Lita and Kikki pull it taut.

The two collapse down the hillside, rolling all the way to the bottom, their movement flinging the group and their vine into the air and across the gully to where they plunge into a tree, disturbing a cloud of butterflies that rushes past the camera as Dani and Ben kissed in the undergrowth.

_**Can you feel the love tonight?**_

_**The peace the evening brings**_

_**The world, for once, in perfect harmony**_

_**With all its living things**_

The group falls out of the tree and crash to the ground. Kikki got hit on the ground and whacks the side of her head, and a butterfly pops out.

"Well, _that_ worked like a dream," Lita said, sarcastically.

"I did?" Kikki asked.

"Sarcasm is a foreign language to you, isn't it?" Lita pointed at Dani and Ben hugging, "Look!"

_**Can you feel the love tonight?**_

_**You needn't look too far**_

"He's making those eyes," said Lita.

"She's smiling that smile," Kikki added.

"They're laughing... and hugging... and—and..." Lita couldn't take it; she and Kikki watched Dani and Ben in their courtship routine.

Lita: _**And if she falls in love tonight**_

_**It can be assume**_

Kikki: _**Her carefree days with us are history**_

All: _**In short our pal is doomed!**_

The two burst into wild sobbing waterworks.


	11. 11: The Storm Comes to a Head

**Chapter 11**

**The Storm Comes to a Head**

During the twilight, the duo walked dejectedly by a waterfall. "Ah, that's it, buddy. We gave it our best shot, but she's a goner," said Lita.

Kikki heard something in the distance, "Maybe not!"

"You never give up, do you?" Lita asked.

"Look!" said Kikki, while Lita look, aghast.

"Listen: You think you can just show up and tell me how to live my life? You don't even know what I've been through!" Dani snapped.

"I would if you just tell us!" Ben snapped back.

"Forget it!"

"Fine!"

As Dani storms off, the group watches from the sidelines. "Kikki, do you know what this means?" Lita asked, very excited.

"Uh, she can't express her feelings, and he has commitment issues?" Kikki replied.

"We won! Ya ha hahh! We split 'em up!" said Lita.

"And, uh, that's a good thing?" Kikki asked, while she follows her friend out into the grasslands, where Dani is wrestling with himself, "Uh, she seems to be taking it kinda hard."

"Yeah, I know. Look, I...heh. But it's the best thing for us. I mean, for him!" said Lita, the clouds gather on the horizon; as Lita turns away, they form into the face of Juniper Lee, "Oh, let's go Kikki. I think this storm's coming to a head."

Later on, the two tucked themselves in to rest for the night. "Hakuna Matata is safe at last, pal, 'cause nothing's gonna take our girl away now," said Lita, later he looks aghast, "She's _gone?_ What do you mean, she's _gone?_"

"It's just like the mongoose friend said. The queen has returned," Ben replied. The gtwo just stood there looking completely dumbfolded. Ben sighs exasperatedly, "Ohh. You want me to go over it _again?!_"

Lita patronizing, "Yes, please. But be a dear and just skip to the part about Dani? Not that your childhood wasn't _fascinating_."

Ben resigned, "Okay, look: Dani's the rightful Queen. But after she disappeared, Mistress 9 proclaimed herself the Queen and formed an alliance with the villains..."

While he continues, Kikki thought with a concerned expression, 'Poor Dani…The treachery... the villainy... the sheer indescribable horror!'

'Blah, blah, blah. Why is he toying with us? Oh, this crazy chick is gonna eat us!' Lita thought with a concerned expression.

"…Dani has to go home to challenge her aunt and reclaim her rightful place as Queen," Ben finished when he stares at the duo, who stand there silently as crickets chirp.

Ben got frustrated, "Ooooh, don't you get it? Dani _needs_ us! _Now!_" They turn and runs off after Dani.

Lita indignant, "She needs us? Then she shouldn't have left us! If she wants to run off to be "Her Highness", well, I say, don't let the branches hit you on the way out! Leave Hakuna Matata to someone who appreciates it," she strides off stubbornly.

"But, Jupiter…it's not really Hakuna Matata without Dani," said Kikki.

"What's gotten into you? Not Hakuna Matata? That's crazy talk. Crazy talk, I tell ya! Nothing's changed here. We had Hakuna Matata before Dani, and we've still got it now," said Lita.

"We gotta help our friend, Jupiter."

"_Et tu, Kikki_? You're just gonna walk away, give up on all this? What happened to 'friends stick together to the end'? Huh? Huh? Huh?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing!" Kikki replied, incisively.

Kikki turns and stalks off. She looks back over her shoulder to see Lita flopping down in the bed, "I got everything I ever wanted right here," Lita said, stubbornly. Kikki turns and trots off, a tear in her eye.

Lita lies in the bed, tapping her toe. She begins to soliloquize to convince herself he's doing the right thing, "Now, this is more like it. Elbow room!" 'Elbow room' echoes an absurd number of times as the camera pulls back repeatedly; Lita collapses in despair, "Uhhhh. Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy, oh boy," she tries to sing to cheer herself up; scene switches to various places where the trio used to hang out, "Hakuna Matata... what a wonderful phrase..." she sang, weakly, "Hakuna...Matata..." now pathetically, "ain't no passing craze... it means... unnghh... No Worries," Lita curls up in the indentation where she used to watch the stars; the other two indentations are empty. Suddenly, Mina came into the picture, laughing.

Lita held out her hands in rejection, "You. No, no, no. Don't say a word. I know what you're gonna say," Lita imitates Mina, "Did you find Hakuna Matata?" Lita said to herself with forced happiness and that gracious air, "Well, yes, I did! Thank you very much! And I am happy... happy, happy, _deliriously_ happy," imitating Mina, "Ho ho haaah! I see. Happy, is it? So, if you're so happy, why do you look so miserable?" Lita switches back to herself; Mina stares sardonically at the camera, "Miserable, you say? Why should I be miserable? Oh, I don't know. Maybe my two best pals in the world deserted me. Heh. They've... they've headed off on some heroic mission. My friends..." Lita turns despairing, "are gone," Sonic saw the light, "...And my Hakuna Matata went with them," Mina nods slowly, smiling. Lita indicates his head, "Would you mind?" Mina smacks her with her flute, "Ay! Thanks! I'm glad we had this talk," Lita clicks her tongue; rushes off.

"My work here is done," said Mina.


	12. Friends Stick Together To The End

**Chapter 12**

**Friends Stick Together To The End**

During the sunset, Kikki run in slow motion across the desert sands, frame-for-frame exactly how Dani ran. Suddenly, Lita dashes at normal speed past the slow-motion group; she skids to a stop in confusion. Lita stops and looks back at her with humility. Kikki looks at her questioningly.

"Friends stick together till the end," said Lita, Kikki gasps joyfully; she rush and embrace, sobbing. Lita paused the movie back at the silhouettes.

"What was with the running? If you call this 'running,'" said Lita.

"I was giving you time to catch up," Kikki replied.

Lita choked up, "Aw, you big lug." The two embraced, while Lita resumes the movie.

"Let's go, buddy. We got a fight to catch!" said Kikki.

"Let's whip some grass!" said Lita. The two ran in high speed toward the dark and drought-ravaged Cartoon Kingdom.

"This is the stuff of legends. An epic struggle—the place where heroes are born. Kikki...this could be our finest hour," Lita narrated.

Hawaiian drums sound; cut to Lita in drag, doing the "Hawaiian War Dance."

Lita: _**Luau!**_

_**If you're hungry for a hunk of fat and juicy meat**_

_**Eat my buddy Kikki here because she i…**_

Lita pauses the movie, "Let's just cut to the chase, shall we?"

"Oh sure," Kikki replied. Cut to the two screaming and fleeing before a pack of hunger-mad villains. The two led the villains over a rise and into a cave, screaming. Silence falls as the villains search for them inside the cave, holding for a beat.

"What the…" said Evil Knuckles. A monkey sound with yellow jello-like clouds came inside the cave. The bad guys flee the cave in a panic. The two emerge triumphantly.

"I love the smell of Monkey of Kikki in the morning," said Lita. Suddenly the ground begins to crumble under their feet.

"Hey, hey, hey. Move your tush, honey!" Nina shouted from underground. Kikki skips out of the way of the newly opened hole; Nina and Rocko are standing in it.

"Mom? Uncle Rocko?" Lita asked, astonished.

"Oh, Lita!" said Nina.

"Lita?" Rocko asked, floored.

"What are you doing here?" Lita asked.

"Looking for you," Nina replied, then embraced Lita, "Aww, Mommy's here." Pause for a beat while Rocko glowers disapprovingly and fingers the flower in Lita' hair; Lita grins sheepishly. Rocko grumbles under his breath.

"Well, let me introduce you to my best friend," as Lita introduce to his family, Kikki gasps at a sight beyond them, "Aah! Look there's Dani! And that must be her aunt Mistress 9!"

Viewpoint switches to show the confrontation between Dani and M9 at the tip of the promontory about to take place; Dani is being backed toward the precipice.

"Oh, good, they're talking things out. Which is how it should be. You know, I have a feeling everything's gonna be just fine," Lita turns away from the scene. Lightning strikes the base of Mystical Castle, igniting the brush, just as Dani slips off the tip of the rock, barely holding on. Lita winces, "On the other hand…"

"The villains and Anti-Toons are up there protecting M9. What do we do?" Knuckles asked.

"Well, I've got a plan," Lita replied.

"How can we help?" Nina asked.

"Mom, Uncle Rocko: You're going to dig a trap. We're going to need—dare I say it?—tunnels... lots and lots of tunnels. And Kikki, you and me... we've gotta get those punks away from Dani," Lita explained.

Kikki wagged her tail, barely suppressing his excitement, "Ooh, ooh! And lure them into the trap?"

"Oh yeah! Nothing gets past you. Come on, gang. Let's ride," said Lita, as she and Kikki ran off.

"Y'know, something's different about Lita..." Nina said, reflective.

"You think?" Rocko shouted in frantic, "She's wearing a hula dress!"


	13. Chapter 13: Villains in the Hole

**Chapter 13**

**Villains in the Hole**

Mistress 9 is away from Dani, with the villains chasing after, while sparks from the fire fly all around. They all wind their way to an area near the top of Mystical Castle, where the villains corner Dani, who snarls at them. Lita and Kikki looks down on them from a ledge above them.

Lita shouted enough for the villains to hear, "Hey Kikki, what do you call a villain with half a brain?"

Kikki laughed, but stopped, "Uh beats me, Jupiter. What?"

"Gifted!" Lita replied and she and Kikki laughed; Blackfire and Evil Knuckles scow, but Evil Omi laughed, until Evil Knuckles smack him, "They're talking about us!"

Blackfire menaced, advancing on them, "For your last meal, you're gonna eat those words!"

The two grinned from the ledge above; suddenly they both zip away, leaving dust clouds in their own shapes that linger for a few moments. They scream as they run down the side of Mystical Castle, until they reach a tunnel entrance.

"Mom, I think we got their attention!" Lita shouted.

"Not yet! Keep stalling!" Nina shouted from the underground as Rocko kept digging and she carried support beams. Above, the duo backed up against a rock wall and illuminated by the red firelight.

"Okay…" Lita panicked; she begins juggling sticks and dishes, while Kikki gestures toward him and grins. The villains stop dead, bewildered.

"You gotta be kidding me," Evil Knuckles said, nonplussed. Lita stands with the dishes balanced on the sticks on her nose and hands, spinning.

"Now, Mom?" Lita asked, panicking.

"Need more time, honey!" Nina shouted from underground. The two link arms and dance, grinning tensely, doing the cancan. The music peters out as the villains glare at them and look insulted.

Lita grasped at straws, "Uh…freestyle!" Hip-hop music plays as the group starts breakdancing. The villains laugh and applaud.

"Ooh, I love it, encore, encore!" Blackfire shouted.

"No, no, no. You mean 'entrée, entrée,'" said Evil Omi.

"No, you right. Let's just eat 'em," Blackfire, Evil Knuckles, and Evil Omi advance on them.

"Is it ready, Mom?!" Lita asked at the edge of her wits.

"Not yet! Keep stalling!" Nina shouted from underground. Lita nervously drums her fingertips together, chatters her teeth, and bites her nails as the villains approach with sinister laughter. Lita gets an idea; she waves her arms in a "time-out" signal.

"Waaait, wait, wait, wait. Hold on a second," Lita approached the villains.

"Jupiter, what are you doing?" Kikki asked.

Lita theatrically, down on one knee, proposal-style, "Evil Knuckles the Echidna…would you do me the honor of becoming... my husband?" The villains are dumbfounded; Kikki gulps, his mouth falling wide open.

Evil Knuckles pauses for a beat before responding, "I don't think so!"

Lita milked it, "Evil Knuckles, please. I know what you're thinking: 'We're too different.' 'It'll never work.' 'What will the children look like?"" Kikki is still frozen with shock, mouth wide open.

Evil Knuckles said in disgust, "Ooh, that violates _so_ many laws of nature."

Lita is backing up against the wall, "Listen to me! The problems of a couple of wacky kids like us don't amount to hill of termites in this nutty circle-of-life thing. And so I ask you: If not now, when? If not me, who?" she said in miserably; pleading, "I'm lonely."

Kikki tapped Lita on the shoulder; sniffling, putting the best face on his shattered emotions, "Can I be your bride's maid?"

"I say we skip the wedding, and go straight to the buffet!" Blackfire said. The villains draw near; Nina pops up from the hole, "Now?"

"Sure, if you're ready," Lita replied, nonchalant.

Nina noticed the villains, "Oh!" she drops back down into the hole; calls to Rocko, "Now, Rocko, now!"

Rocko yells and kicks out one of the tunnel supports, which falls and takes out the rest in a series, like dominoes, "Villains in the hole!" The ground under the villains crumbles and collapses; they back off, yelping, as the crack follows them rapidly. The crack suddenly stops expanding as one of the supports hits an embedded rock and doesn't fall. The villains stop retreating, and look back at the gang angrily. Nina and Rocko pop out of the hole.

"I need help. It didn't work," said Rocko.

"Hey, it works for me!" said Evil Knuckles, approaching, again. Nina and Rocko are backed up against the rock wall.

"What are we gonna do?" Nina asked, panicked.

Lita first looks terrified; then she looks at the ground under the bad guys, noticing where the crack ends up. She steels herself, then runs headlong at Blackfire, aiming between her legs. Lightning flashes as Nina yells after her.

"What?!" Blackfire gasped.

"Lita, no!" Nina shouted. Lita dives into the crack and rushes along it, pursued by the villains' growls and snapping teeth. She makes it past, and the villains lose interest in her, focusing back on Kikki, Nina, and Rocko; Nina hugged Rocko hug each other in terror as Kikki backed up.

"Let's get them!" Evil Knuckles ordered. Lita dives by shouting, "JUPITER SURPREME THUNDER!!" for the last tunnel support; it crumbles on impact. The villains leap for their victims; Kikki, Nina, and Rocko gasp and steel themselves as lightning flashes. As Blackfire lands right in front of them, however, the ground gives way, followed by the whole ledge area collapsing into a huge crater, swallowing all the villains' whole. The villains slide through a huge subterranean tunnel complex, screaming, until they disappear into the darkness. Camera switch to the peak of Mystical Castle, where Dani is just hurling Mistress 9 over the edge; M9 crashes down the cliff face, passing the group as they watch.

"I'd say Mistress 9 is down and out," Kikki said, with finality.

"We did it. We did it!" Rocko shouted with triumphed.

Nina is consumed with worry; shaking Rocko by the chest hair, "Where's Lita? Where's my baby? She's hurt!" she flings Rocko away, "Oh, no! Oh, no! She's dead!" She grabs Kikki by the shirt and slams her to the ground, looking downright insane, "Or _worse!_ W-we gotta find him. We've gotta find him!"

Lita emerges from the hole, "It's okay, Mom."

Nina grabs Lita and shakes her, "Oh, please. It is not okay! Don't you tell me it's okay!" she recognized her; gasping, "Lita!" she embraces him in a bear hug, "My son…my hero!" Lita reaches up as though to comb her hair, but catches herself; she looks at her hands in embarrassment.

Lita lowered her head, "You missed a spot," Nina combs it and dusts her off.

"That's so beautiful!" Rocko overcome, crying, and grabs Lita, hugging her tightly around her neck.

"Choking... Not breathing..." said Lita.


	14. Chapter 14: Promised Land

**Chapter 14**

**Promised Land**

That rainy night, washing over the cleansed Toon Castle. Thunder crashes as the camera pans down the rock face; Mina gestures to Dani to take his place as King. Before he starts up the slope, Dani turns aside to Lita and Kikki, who bow formally to her.

Dani embracing them, "I couldn't have done it without you guys," she starts to march up the promontory.

"That's our girl," said Kikki, proudly, but not a little wistfully.

"Ohh... I promised myself I wasn't gonna cry," Lita began to cry. Dani roars with her ghostly wail at the tip of the promontory; the group looks up at her flush with pride as the rest of the everyone roars and cheers back. Rocko and Bernie. The two and Kikki all share a look.

"You've really come a long way, sweetie. Did you find what you were looking for?" Nina asked, impressed.

"I found a place that was beyond my wildest dreams. But... it still wasn't home," Lita replied, taking Nina's hand, "Let's go home, guys." Later on, Lita is now showing it off to her mom.

"Whoa," said Nina.

"Welcome to our new home... a predator-free environment," said Lita.

"I gotta hand it to you, Lita. This place has everything," said Nina.

"Well, now that we're all here, it does," said Lita. In the inner jungle, Rocko is leading a group of penguins in a session of tai-chi.

"Crane... spreads its wings... Turns, with dainty hands..." said Rocko. Later, the Sailor Scouts and Penguins arrayed along the edge of a pool, arms all upraised; one by one they dive into the water as they sing.

Sailor Scouts and Penguins: _**Digga tunnah,  
Dig, dig a tunnah  
Never gonna dig another tunnah  
Digga tunnah,  
Dig, digga tunnah  
Never more the villain come!**_

A chorus line of butterfly wings are swept out of the way; Lita dances and cavorts with a Carmen Miranda-esque hat of colorful bugs.

_**Sing the praises of brave Lita  
Bravest Sailor Scout we've ever known**_

Rocko relaxes in the vine hammock with a drink, while bugs fall all around. Sailor Scouts, Penguins, and Knuckles take turns on the trampoline.

_**Never dreamed she'd help Dani shine**_

Kikki: _**Proved it's cool to hang out with monkey!**_

A line of penguins fish for bugs under a log.

Sailor Scouts and Penguins: _**Accidentally saved the day**_

Lita: _**Planned it so it would look that way!**_

Sailor Scouts and Penguins: _**And brought us out of the dirt and sand  
Led his family to the Promised Land**_

_**Sing the praises of brave Lita  
Bravest Sailor Scout we've ever known!**_


	15. Chapter 15: Curtain Call

**Chapter 15**

**Curtain Call**

"Well, that's it. The big wrap-up, the happy ending, the grand finale," Lita narrated back at the theater seats.

"It's over already?" Kikki whispered.

"Well, Kikki. That's the thing about endings. They come at the end," Lita replied.

"Ooh, can we watch it again?" Kikki asked, excited.

"Kikki, we just saw it. Maybe tomorrow," Lita replied. Nina entered the theater, "Hey, what are you girls doing?" she gasps as she seen the screen, "You didn't tell me you were watching the movie! I wanna watch too!"

"Mom, we just finished. Show's over," said Lita.

"Well, you're just gonna have to rewind it!" Nina grabs Kikki's remote and begins rewinding.

"Mom!" Lita said, pained.

"Rocko! We're gonna watch the movie!" Nina called.

"Oh no," Lita groaned.

Rocko entered the theater, carrying the popcorn, "Hey, I brought extra butter."

Dani entered, "Hey, you guys are watching the movie?" Dani asked.

"Any story worth telling is worth telling twice," Mina, Erin, Tails, and Hotaru came in. The silhouette of Carly walks in and sits down.

"What the…" said Lita.

"Hey, Cmara. Mind if I sit with you?" Naruto asked.

"Sure Naruto," Carly replied, blushing. The members of the F.A.F. came in, including DarkMagicianmon and Hikari. Breaker came in and sat with Shelby, "Hey babe, looks like it's my lucky day…"

Shelby's boyfriend, Jose, slugged Breaker, "Quit flirting with my girl!" Jose sat next to Shelby.

"Breaker, you're a moron," said Luster, relaxing in the seat.

"Who is _this_ crowd?" Lita asked.

Cosmo, Wanda and their son, Poof flies in and sits down in the middle, followed by Crash, Coco and Crunch. Sora, Kairi, Roxas, Namine, Riku are also seated in this row.

"Hey, down in front!" Lita shouted.

In another row, the Disney Group are sitting; Daxter jumps head to head, until he gets to a vacant seat.

"What did you do that for?!" Donald snapped. In still another row, Ratchet and Clank sit at opposite ends of the row; Spyro flies in, followed by Sparx. The Xiaolin Dragons and Jack Spicer all pile in, shouting. Switch to Lita's row, where she's holding two large bodies apart to keep them from squashing her.

"Watch it!" Lita shouted, straining.

Lita's row has Ben 10, Cynder, Dani, the Powerpuff Girls, Digimon Tamers, Yin, Yang and Yo. Ben and Dani squeeze together, and Lita squirts out from between them like a watermelon seed. She lands next to Kikki as the movie, still rewinding, nears the beginning.

"Okay, buddy, you win," Lita resigned.

"Sure you don't mind?" Kikki asked.

"Hakuna Matata," Lita sincere.

"Shh," said Chika, Kyoko, and Amai.

"Sorry," Breaker apologized.

"Uh Jupiter…" Kikki said as the screen goes black, "I still don't do so well in crowds."


End file.
